Monday, April 22, 2013

Typing Our Own Blood

Last class, we performed an experiment using synthetic blood
and antiserums to practice typing blood. This class, we carried out a similar
procedure, except this time, we used our own blood!

First, we obtained the following materials:

1 Antiserum containing blood typing card

1 Beaker of water

1 Pipet

1 Cover sheet

1 Lancet

4 Eldon sticks

1 Alcohol Swab

1 Cotton ball

This is the procedure we followed:

1.Fill in the necessary information on your blood
typing card.

2.Activate the antiserums on the blood typing card
by adding one drop of water to each section.

3.Wipe your finger with the alcohol swab, and use
the lancet to pierce through the skin.

4.Scoop up the blood with an Eldon stick, and mix
in the blood with the first antiserum on the card. Add blood to all of the
antiserums using different Eldon sticks each time.

5.Press the cotton ball to your finger to stop the
bleeding.

6.See which of the blood samples agglutinated on
the card, and figure out your blood type.

If the blood with the anti-A serum agglutinated,
you are type A.
If the blood with the anti-B serum agglutinated, you are type B.
If the blood with the anti-A serum and the anti-B serum both agglutinated, you
are type AB.
If neither the blood with the anti-A serum and the anti-B serum agglutinated,
you are type O.
If the blood with the anti-D serum agglutinated, you are Rh+. If it didn’t, you
are Rh-.

7.Write your blood type on your card, and place a
cover sheet over it once it dries.

Lead Investigator

Brendan Madden, working as a city planner in Seattle, as well as playing in a rock band, decided to go for a major change in his life: he moved to China. Apparently, his side-adventures surfing in Peru, playing ice hockey in Moscow and skiing in Europe wasn’t enough.
In China, he helped found Qingdao American Int. School, after which, he became the head of the science dept. and taught everything from 6th grade science to 12th grade physics, PE and guitar. Also, with his colleague he created a travel film company.
Brendan is as adventuresome as they come. He has since ridden a mountain bike to Everest, road-tripped Iran, and skied Iraq. Ever the musician, he also established one of China's fastest up and coming rock bands.
Recently, he produced a travel series set in Xinjiang, China, hosted a driving series for the German car manufacturer Audi. He also produced a documentary on climbing Mt. McKinley.
Brendan graduated from Western Washington Univ. with a B.S. in Envir. Science. Bilingual in English and Chinese, he earned a M.Ed. in 5-12th grade science education and is currently living in Tokyo, Japan teaching high school forensics, biology, and physics.